This is not an entirely painless process, but as the saying goes, beauty is pain.

He’s not a doctor; he’s an artist. Your body is his palette, your skin his canvas. Except instead of adding color and dimension, his specialty is in the art of removing. Removing blemishes. Removing wrinkles. Removing sunspots, hair, and rosacea. Removing the outer layer of skin that has been beat upon by the sun or by age, revealing a younger, smoother you that has been hiding just below the surface. And all with the help of his so-called magic wand: the laser. Eduardo Ayub, vice president and founder of South of Fifth’s White Light Skincare, is a downright magician with his lasers, making signs of aging and unwanted hairs disappear with the swipe of an intense white light.

That light comes courtesy of Palomar Medical Technologies, which offers some of the best laser and pulsed light treatments currently on the market. Each of the five Palomar Medical Technologies wands used at White Light has a different wavelength, allowing it to reach various depths below the surface. The lasers are attracted to dark spots below the skin, whether they are blemishes or hair roots. The light concentrates on these spots and effectively “zaps” them out of commission. Once the light is absorbed as heat by the sunspot, hair, or other unwanted blemish, imperfections effectively disappear.

Ayub, an esthetician and certified medical electrologist, has more than 10 years of experience working with the lasers and pulsed light treatments. Over the course of his career, he has also worked at Scott J Salons and Vanishing Point, and has studied Aromology with Aveda’s founder Horst Rachelbacher. The field of laser technology excites him; skincare is his passion, and reason enough for his return to Miami from New York to open White Light Skincare earlier this year. Despite being in his early 40s, not a single wrinkle is visible on his smooth skin. While this can be attributed to staying out of the sun, it is also the result of a strict laser regimen. Ayub is his own best customer.

This is not an entirely painless process, but as the saying goes, beauty is pain. On a sliding scale, the PhotoFacial ($300 to $500) entails the least amount of nuisance with the most immediate results. The laser is the shortest wavelength offered at White Light as it barely has to break the skin’s surface to clear up rosacea, sunspots, wrinkles, and more. The wand is moved over the face as it dispenses burst of light, during which clients can expect to feel tiny, very tolerable pinpricks, a discomforting feeling that is numbed by the application of ice. Within 20 minutes, clients emerge looking as if “specs of mud were thrown at the face,” as Ayub puts it. In reality, the skin damage is simply drawn to the surface, appearing as dark freckles. Within one week, the spots flake off, revealing smooth, sunspot-free skin underneath, complete with tighter pores.

Following the treatment, Ayub suggests Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy ($120),
a completely painless and quite pleasant procedure to help the healing process along. Clients are urged to go from the laser treatment room across the hall to the hyperbaric chamber. “This helps speed up the recovery time after a PhotoFacial,” Ayub explains. “When you are done with a PhotoFacial, skin can be red and irritated. The increased oxygen helps soothe that.” The therapy is dispensed in a pressurized chamber that resembles a futuristic tanning bed. Upon getting zipped in, the chamber, lined with pillows and blankets, is pressurized with 80 percent pure oxygen, allowing for greater oxygen absorption through body tissues. Ayub swears by its positive effects, and can often be found before store opening catching a catnap in its protective cocoon.

One week after the application of the laser, Ayub recommends following up with the spa’s O2 Micro ($250), a combination of a standard microdermabrasion with the healing benefits of the IntraCeutical Oxygen Facial. Combining the exfoliation of the microdermabrasion with the powerful penetrating effects of the oxygen and rejuvenating serum leaves skin so smooth, you just may be carded afterwards. (I was.)

Permanent hair reduction ($150 to $700, depending on the treated area), another White Light Skincare specialty, does require a higher pain threshold but comes with pleasingly smooth results. The permanent hair reduction is achieved when the cells responsible for new hair growth are targeted. With the use of the Palomar wands (a larger wand head size than other industry standards) the results are achieved in fewer sessions. Within seven to 10 days from the initial session, the hair will begin to fall out, and nothing will grow in its place.

The InfraRed Skin Tightening ($500 to $1,000), however, does require the ability to withstand the sensation of a burning match on the skin for up to eight seconds. Just keep reminding yourself of the age-old adage, “Beauty is pain.” Withstanding the treatment certainly results in beauty, as cellulite disappears within three weeks of the application of the laser. Just ask Ayub’s wife, Erin, a walking before-and-after example of how well the InfraRed Skin Tightening system works. She has treated one leg and left the other as a control. The results are visible on the back of her tight, smooth thigh. The skin tightening treatment sends thick columns of light deep into the dermis and fat layer, creating new tissue that smoothes out the appearance of the skin on the face, neck, stomach, and, of course, legs. The skin tightening can also diminish the appearance of stretch marks.

Ayub is also a wonder when it comes to the Palomar Fractional, which targets deep wrinkles. The spa can also handle acne reduction, removal of blood vessels, bleaching where the sun don’t shine, and more. The result is smoother skin from head to toe as if by magic, thanks to White Light Skincare.